Soccer-England ease to first win over Ireland since 1985

Maguire, wearing the captain's armband, headed his side in front after 18 minutes and Sancho's fine finish put the hosts in complete control before halftime. Calvert-Lewin's well-taken penalty after the break added some gloss as England sharpened up for their crucial Nations League clashes against Belgium and Iceland.

England beat Ireland for the first time since 1985 as goals by Harry Maguire, Jadon Sancho and Dominic Calvert-Lewin secured a 3-0 win in a friendly at an empty Wembley Stadium on Thursday. Maguire, wearing the captain's armband, headed his side in front after 18 minutes and Sancho's fine finish put the hosts in complete control before halftime.

Calvert-Lewin's well-taken penalty after the break added some gloss as England sharpened up for their crucial Nations League clashes against Belgium and Iceland. It was quite a turnaround for Maguire who was sent off in England's last game, a 1-0 Nations league defeat by Denmark.

England's performance was a welcome distraction too after a difficult week in which Liverpool defender Joe Gomez suffered a serious knee injury in training with the national team and FA chairman Greg Clarke resigned after making inappropriate comments at a parliamentary committee meeting. Remarkably, England's last six completed matches against Ireland had ended in draws with the game in Dublin in 1995 abandoned because of crowd trouble.

But the latest meeting of the teams proved far less eventful and completely one-sided as Southgate's young side impressed.